Nebraska May Soon Cut Regulations For Barbers, Military Spouses, Even Potato Shippers

Lawmakers in Nebraska are toying with a radical idea to boost entrepreneurs: Get out of their way. A package of modest reforms currently under consideration would reduce many burdens from occupational licensing, a labor policy that now affects more people than union membership or the minimum wage.

Working with the governor, Nebraska lawmakers identified multiple restrictions that were “onerous or out-of-step with other states.” For instance, Nebraska requires massage therapists to complete 1,000 hours of coursework for their licenses, which, according to the Institute for Justice, is the second most burdensome requirement in the nation. Meanwhile, the state’s regulations for cosmetologists are the most onerous, tied with South Dakota and Iowa. The Cornhusker State is also the only state to require a year of experience for its title-examiner license.

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“Occupational licensing reform helps make state government more effective, efficient, and customer focused,” Gov. Pete Ricketts noted in a statement. “Unnecessary licensing restrictions are a barrier to Nebraskans seeking careers in licensed professions, and especially to those who may be looking for a career change or upward mobility.”

Now more than a dozen licenses are in reformers’ crosshairs. Proposed legislation would lower the number of hours needed to become a licensed barber or cosmetologist from 2,100 hours of training to 1,500. That bill would also halve the required hours for massage therapists, and reduce coursework requirements for nail technicians by at least a third. The one-year experience requirement for title examiners would also be repealed. And separate legislation would allow military spouses with active, out-of-state nursing licenses to apply to practice in Nebraska.

One of the more unusual laws that may be on the chopping block is Nebraska’s license for potato shipping. Since 1945, anyone involved in shipping at least 180,000 pounds of Nebraska-grown potatoes has to obtain a license from the state’s Department of Agriculture. Potato shippers then must pay a tax (no more than two cents) for every 100 pounds of potatoes they transport, raising $75,000 in revenue each year. Only 12 licenses are currently active, according to the Department, and—thankfully—the state hasn’t had to discipline any sinister spud shippers.

Licensing is now one of the biggest issues for Nebraska’s labor markets. Today, one-third of the state’s workforce needs either a license or certificate from the government before they can legally work. All that red tape adds up: the Heritage Foundation found that occupational licensing costs the average Nebraska household over $940 each year.